Reno, Nev. - The University of Nevada (5-6, 1-2 WAC) volleyball team dropped its Western Athletic Conference home opener to SJSU (5-8, 1-2 WAC) 3-2 at the Virginia Street Gym in Reno, tonight. The Pack lost by scores of 24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 12-25 and 7-15 to fall to 5-6 on the season and 1-2 in the WAC while the Spartans improved to 5-8 and 1-2 in conference play.
Nevada led 2-1 after three sets but SJSU stormed back with a 25-12 victory in set four and closed out the match winning the deciding fifth set 15-7. The Spartans scored the first six points of the fifth set and led 13-3 on the way to the 15-7 victory and 3-2 match win. SJSU hit .357 in the final set and held Nevada to a negative .267 attack percentage.
Nevada led the first set late at 24-23 but the Spartans scored the final three points to win 26-24 and take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Pack hit .200 in set one and SJSU was slightly better at .216.
Set two featured 10 ties and seven lead changes before the Pack held on for the 25-23 victory. Sophomore outside hitter Kylie Harrington closed out the set with a service ace. The Pack had their best hitting set of the night at .368 while SJSU also hit well at .300.
Following the break Nevada scored a 25-22 victory in set three to go in front 2-1 in the match. With scored tied a 22-22 Pack head coach Devin Scruggs called timeout and after returning to the floor the squad scored the final three points of set to win 25-22. Senior Allison Hernandez scored the final two points on back-to-back assists from junior setter Sonnie Sei. The Pack again hit well in the set at .333 and SJSU was even better at .389.
The Spartans won set four easily using a 13-3 run to close out the set 25-12. SJSU hit .250 and Nevada zero in set four. The Spartans continued their dominance in the final set winning 15-7 to claim the 3-2 match victory. In the final two sets of the match SJSU outscored Nevada 40-19.
Sophomore Lindsay Baldwin topped the Pack with a match and career-high 21 kills and hit .410. Harrington finished with 12 kills and 16 digs while Hernandez totaled 10 kills and 14 digs as both posted double-doubles. Harrington’s 16 kills tied for match-high honors. Sei dished out a career and match-high 50 assists in the match. Libero Nicole Link contributed 10 digs as the team totaled 62 in the match.
Four SJSU players reached double figures in kills led by Kelly Crow’s 20. Brianna Amian (18), Nia Freeman (10) and Niki Clement (10) also posted double figures. Libero Kristal Tsukano tied Harrington for match-high honors with 16 digs. The Spartans setter Brittany Collet posted a double-double with 49 assists and 15 digs.
SJSU out hit the Pack .296 to .192 on the night. The Spartans also won the blocking battle 10-5. Baldwin and junior Jorgan Staker each had three blocks for the Pack while Amian had nine for SJSU.
Nevada returns to the road for its next two matches traveling to Logan, Utah for a WAC match with Utah State, Saturday followed by a nonconference match at UNLV Sunday.
